Editor's note: This article includes a link to a Facebook post containing offensive language.

A black professional who detailed his fears about being mistaken for a burglar in his predominantly white Mesa neighborhood aroused both sympathy and outrage after his Facebook post went viral.

Sean Carter published the post, which included a photo of an Amazon package he said had been mistakenly delivered to his home, on April 28. He said he would not deliver the package to the next block — and would not allow one of his teenage sons to do it — because he feared a white neighbor might perceive them as a threat.

Instead, he was waiting for a carrier to pick up the parcel and redeliver it, he said.

Carter, who has published controversial posts about racism before, did not immediately respond to The Arizona Republic's requests for comment. His website says he uses his background as a former securities lawyer and comedian to develop educational programs on legal ethics, compliance and diversity.

'Extremely unsafe'

Officials said the man chased the 14-year-old into the yard, firing a shotgun as his wife called sheriff's deputies to report an attempted break-in.

“Totally agree with you on the reemergence (not that it was ever eliminated) of racism in this country.”

Facebook comment

"It’s extremely unsafe to send our boys to the home of any family that we don’t know in this predominantly white neighborhood," Carter wrote. "Why? Because there is a realistic chance that one of my neighbors will see my boy as a threat and call the police or even pull a gun on him."

"This means that Black children are less likely to be afforded the full essence of childhood and its definitional protections," the study said. In other words, "males of all races are not equally afforded the privilege of innocence."

'I wish the world was different'

As of Sunday, the post had drawn more than 213,000 likes and more than 80,000 comments.

Some people lashed out at Carter, calling him the prejudiced one.

"The fear and automatic judgement that your white neighbors are racist, is racist in itself," one commenter wrote. "To assume they would be violent towards you for bringing over a package like any normal neighbor would, is ludacris (sic)."